


Bad Bots

by skreaver



Category: NieR: Automata (Video Game)
Genre: AU, Character Death Fix, Fix-It, Multi, Polyamorous relationship, Polyamory, basically what if 2B and 9S deserted but you're there because who wouldn't want that?, possible nsfw
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-18
Updated: 2019-07-04
Packaged: 2020-05-13 21:36:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19259605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skreaver/pseuds/skreaver
Summary: You couldn't do it anymore.You couldn't watch him die, watch her kill him, crying for hours until the next day where you all had to pretend nothing happened.Things had to change, even if it meant doing the unthinkable for a YoRHa unit.Even if it meant total desertion.





	1. Total Desertion

_You couldn't do it anymore…_

**_They_ ** _couldn't do it anymore…_

_Somehow, someway this had to end._

_"2B wait!!"_

_Without thinking, your body jolted into a sprint, to protect that which was dearest to you. Your feet raced to protect a connection and your hands burned, red oozing from your torn gloves in the aftermath._

_A small price to pay for what became of that memory in the future._

\---------

The sun beat down, soaking into the dark spots on your clothes as you remained stagnant, sitting on a rooftop. Your small, curious boyfriend was situated in your lap, carefully observing the machines below. You'd been this way for what felt like an eternity, sitting with him, just watching. You weren't nearly as fascinated by machines as 9S was, but in the end, it's not like you minded spending the time with him. After all, leisure afternoons were a rare occurrence and a welcome change when they came around.

"Gee, you really can watch these things for hours" an amused giggle left your lips as you playfully squeezed the scanner in your lap.

He, in turn, responded with a sheepish chuckle. "Hehe… well I did warn you that I might be here for a bit"

"It's fine, I'm only teasing" you laughed, ruffling his once snow white hair, now of which had morphed into a cherry red color. "Besides, I like spending time with you. It's super cute to watch you geek out about stuff"

You angled your neck to press a kiss to his cheek, noting with delight the shiver that coursed through him, as well as the flustered heat that gathered where your lips were.

"A-Ahm… you think so?" he stuttered.

"Of course, silly. I've told you that before!"

"I-I know, I know… it's just new to me still. I think you're the only one who _likes_ listening to me talk"

"Vi likes listening to you too, you know?"

"Ah, well, I mean, maybe but… she doesn't vocalize it like you do"

"When does she vocalize anything, Quinn?" you chuckled, earning one from him as well.

"I suppose that's true. She has her own way of 'vocalizing' so to speak"

"That's our Vi for you"

You shared in quiet laughter as you nuzzled your face against the boy's neck, drawing him in closer as the wind whipped through the trees. From your place on the rooftop, legs dangling over the edge, you could see the leaves whistle in the breeze, dancing in the air. You could see the machines too - stubby's hopping around mostly - but even they seemed to stop and admire the dance of nature.

"It's… really nice like this, isn't it?" 9S' soft voice weaved into the comfortable silence, his fingers gently lacing with the ones you had around him.

"Mm… it really is"

It was moments like that,  that made it all worth it.

\-------

_"Wh… What are you doing?" the horrified voice of the woman before you was not lost to your ears._

_"_____…!" neither was the desperate plea of the boy behind you, helpless in the sand but shielded by your body._

_"I can't take this anymore…!" tears collected in the corner of your eyes, pooling together and threatening to drench your visor. Everything hurt so much. Your heart, your body, your hands._

_You couldn't do this anymore._

_"I can't watch you kill him over and over again! I can't take another night of holding you while you cry yourself to sleep! I don't give a damn about the Commander's orders! This has to end!" the water in your eyes leaked down your cheeks, soaking your visor as they dripped down onto the sand below._

_The hurt was too much. It was too much to bring their broken bodies back again. Too much to watch the pain in 2B’s eyes and the painfully empty smile 9S would give you the next day as he struggled with this faint idea that he was losing bits and pieces of himself - bits and pieces of his time with you and 2B._

_You would rather die and be decommissioned before allowing this to continue. It could not continue._

_2B struggled with the blade in her hand, trembling as the sharp end pierced the skin of your hands. Blood had soaked through your black gloves and dripped onto the sand in crimson droplets, landing ever so sickeningly, poetically in time with your tears, mixing together in the earth. She hadn't been aiming for you, no she would never - you jumped in the way after all - but as you now stood in the way of her target, something stirred inside of her._

_Confliction._

_She'd felt it so many times before. This lurching, hesitant feeling that she would always get before she had to force herself to crumble 9S' small body once more. The look of pain in your eyes after such a deed, was always what reduced her to the tears she tried so hard to hide. The warm embrace of your arms was a place her sobs had found a home in so many times._

_She_ **_hated_ ** _hurting you._ **_Hated_ ** _hurting him._

_But who was she if she didn't follow orders? Wasn't that… what she was_ **_born_ ** _to do?_

_"2B please… listen to me…"_

_What kind of person would she be... if she didn't?_

_She was born to kill…_

_"Things can change… it won't be easy but I know they can…"_

_...who would she be if she didn't?_

\------

A familiar, placid voice that hinged on an amused tone filtered into your ears.

"So, I see you two are slacking off again"

You loosened your grip on 9S as you turned half of your body around, swiveling your head to meet the owner of that voice. A smile grew on your face as the sight of your girlfriend, unharmed and lips upturned in just the slightest way filled your view.

"Well hello to you too, babe" you laughed, watching her smile melt into something just the softest bit more heartfelt at the nickname. "And we're not slacking - we're _observing_ , right Quinn?"

The scanner in your lap nodded, a sheepish smile playing on his lips as he scratched a finger at his cheek in fluster. "Y-Yeah. I know it doesn't look like much, but you can learn a lot from just watching!"

"Uh-huh" she snorted, shaking her head softly.

The taller android walked over to take a seat next to you, legs swinging over the ledge as she lowered herself to the ground. "Learn anything new then?"

She wore a wry smile, her once pale, blond hair now a deep purple and a tad bit longer than it used to be, framing her bemusement perfectly.

Looking at her, you wove a free hand into hers and she closed her fingers around yours, smile softening.

"Actually, it seems that the machines in this area stick to a routine" 9S piped up. "It's not anything special but I noticed that they follow the same path and check the same spots repeatedly. Most of the other machines we've encountered tend to be more sparse and roam a lot more than these guys do"

"That's actually pretty valuable information. It means we don't have to worry about the machines in this area moving around too much" 2B noted.

"Which is nice too since the Resistance Camp is so close to here. We wouldn't want them accidentally wandering into that hole in the wall" you added.

"Yeah. They really should think about putting up some type of gate or something, though. Their lack of defense is a bit off putting, especially since they're so out in the open..." 9S sighed, shaking his head.

"Well, maybe we can bring that up to Anemone. I'm sure she's probably thought about it but maybe she just hasn't had the extra hands to do it" you suggested.

"That might be a good idea" 9S agreed. "Since we're part of the Resistance now, we should try to make sure the place we're staying in is secure"

Part of the Resistance… that you certainly were.

\-----

_There was a certain loneliness that came without having a floating companion around you. One that would tune you into the operator diligently following your progress; an operator who lit up the moment she saw your face._

_There was a hurt you could never get rid of as you buried your broken pod in the sand, severing that bond._

_But…_

_There was freedom too._

_There was freedom in the clothes you_ **_chose_ ** _to wear, ones you had plucked out of the corners of the abandoned shopping mall. Freedom came in a new hair style, a new voice._

_A new name._

_"Alright, well if you're going to be working with us we have to give you names. That’s how things work around here" Anemone's voice was soft, gently commanding. It sounded like a symphony at that time._

_"You'll be Violet" she gestured to 2B, no doubt in part because of her newly donned vibrant, purple hair._

_Next was 9S, to which she dubbed "Quinn" and he beamed._

_Last was you, "Reyes" and your heart sang._

\----

"Yeah… we gotta protect our new home"

A heartfelt smile weaved onto your lips.

The road was long but no future was ever just given, it was something you needed to take for yourself.

 


	2. That of Which Makes a Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 9S has always been emotional, his model has a predisposition to behaving as such.  
> Although, the freedom to express those emotions is new.  
> Just how would he deal with such a freedom?

Slumbering minds often find ways to travel far beyond the realm of expectation compared to when they are alert and awake. A mind deep in subconscious has nothing more to do than to roam, reaching deep into the static for new dreams and ideas or - 

**** … for old memories, once thought to be stripped from the ether but the truth never really dissipates. 

**** It haunts 9S some nights, the memories lingering deep in the scrambled code of his mind palace. 

**** _It’s a different time, a different him. But you and 2B… you were always the same._

**** _His reason for existence, the reason he swallowed being killed over and over again. If he could come back to you… if he could see the both of you, then he could bite back the pain. He could live with the painful vacancy he felt every time he woke up, that static that fuzzed up and made it hurt just to exist._

_He could live with the way things always ended and how, at the very last second, those memories of another him gathered in the cracked, blank space of his mind - filling it up and completing this puzzle of despair._

**** _It ripped him apart worse than any blade._

**** _Sometimes he could hear you crying..._

****_Then he hears_ your voice, somewhere between the _edge of sleep_ and the curve of reality. Everything starts to fizz back into focus, crackling in front of his eyes like fireworks in a dark sky. 

**** Then he hears your voice.

**** "Quinny~ It's time to get up sleepy boy"

**** It's soft and it sounds like a lullaby, like a hand reaching to pull him out of this static horror. 

**** His eyes flutter, light filling and irritating his irises but the minute he can see you clearly - none of it matters. You're smiling at him. Of course you were, you were always smiling at him, even if he never could quite get used to it.

**** "Mm...? It's time to get up already…?" his voice sounds so far away from him,  his processors taking their time rousing from slumber. 

**** "Unfortunately it is, love" you chuckled, gently pushing his bangs aside to place a kiss on his forehead. 

**** That gets him going - red, hot blood surging to his cheeks. It was always like this, no matter how many times you did it, he found himself forever stuttered at how openly you cared for him. How you didn't silence him or tell him to quiet his emotions. 

**** "Man… feels like we just went to sleep…" he mumbled, defiantly nuzzling closer to you, nose buried in the crook of your neck. 

**** He can feel you laugh, the deep reverb tickling his face and drawing a smile over his tired lips. 

**** "I know, I know. But we gotta get up. Anemone said she'd have a mission for us when we get up, remember?" 

**** He just groans, a cranky child not wanting to leave the warmth of this bed of blankets, the comfort of the two pillows cradling his head, the ones Popola had sewn together for them when they first arrived. He may have been sleeping on the hard ground, underneath a flimsy tent, rather than a sturdy, comfortable bed; but if it meant being with the people he loved, then it was welcomed. 

"Quinny~" you hummed, giggling ever so softly. "Come on, darling. I don't want to get up anymore than you do" 

**** "Then don't" he offered with a cheeky smile against your skin, this light hearted banter driving his nightmares farther and farther from him. 

"Not an option, babe" you chuckled. "C'mon it's to make the hideout stronger anyway" 

He supposed that was true…

_Sigh_

**** "Okay, okay…" 

**** He never could say no to you after all. 

**** \--

**** “So you’re saying you’ve seen a machine with some rare materials we could use to fortify the hideout?” 9S inquired of the resident supply trader. 

**** “Yup, it’s over at the amusement park. I saw it hoarding the stuff some time ago but I could never catch it. Now with my busted leg, well there’s not a chance in hell, but I think the three of you might have more luck” he explained. 

**** Not the hardest mission in the world 9S thought to himself, but certainly not the easiest either. The last time your group went out on a supply run you only nearly made it back, on account of a swarm of angry machines swathing the lot of you in droves. Judging by their distorted speech, they weren't at all pleased with the dismantling of their brethren for spare parts, which, who would be? But in these times it truly had become an arms race to survive, let alone reclaim the Earth. 

**** 9S could only hope this mission fared a bit better. 

**** "Any idea where we could start looking within the amusement park?" 

**** The trader thought for a moment, mouth scrunched up. "I could've sworn I saw the thing heading into the basement of the theater, last time I was there" 

**** "That's as good a place as any to start" you decided, to which both himself and 2B agreed. 

**** "Try not to get busted up, yeah?" the trader quipped, turning back to his work, driving a screwdriver into some mechanism he'd been tinkering with. 

**** You laughed, soft and amused - to which 9S felt his heart stumble into the closest human action of "fluttering" within his chest - before bading the man farewell. 

**** "We'll do our best, see you later" 

**** And so off to the Amusement Park it was.

**** \-- 

The Amusement Park was always the same. 

The brightest thing in a dull world that existed only in hues of green leaves and grey, crumbling buildings. Here there was oranges that mixed with purples in the everlasting sunset hanging in the horizon. There was the dance of colors on the buildings and the park rides. The red and pink uniforms of the park's caretakers - the machines teeming over every inch of the place.

_"For as haunting as it can be… I think it's equally as beautiful"_

9S remembered how tiltedly he looked at you the first time you said that, how a type of curiosity riddled with disbelief bubbled up in his throat. How anyone could find this place beautiful had been beyond him, for as far as he was concerned the only interesting thing about this place was the odd way in which the machines behaved. Their cheerful disposition, their exclamation-point antics. It was fascinating… and unnerving.

**** It was then, as that thought settled into his mind that something clicked. Fascinating but unnerving… beautiful but haunting. 

**** It was an idea he'd stumbled on only a month ago but slowly he started to understand what you meant. That shell of an idea grew less hollow, filled by the bright look in your eyes that reflected the fireworks in the distance. 

When he saw you smiling, truly joyful, that's when he started to realize how such a place might be beautiful. 

**** "So, the basement in the theater is where we're heading right?" the boy asked, walking at your left and trailing just behind 2B. 

"That's what he said" the girl remarked.

**** "Kind of worrying that it's so closed off" 9S mentioned, a hint of unease growing within him. "I hope we don't get mobbed like we did last time" 

"We should be alright. Unlike the machines in the factory, the ones here seem to be docile for the most part. At most we should only need to deal with a couple" 

**** "I suppose that's true…" 

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

**** Footsteps veered off the cobblestone path at a quickened pace, drawing his attention. He watched as you turned down a nearby alleyway, suddenly very interested in something at the end of it.

**** "Reyes?" 

**** No answer. So he followed, 2B behind him. 

**** "Reyes, what are you doing?" 

**** The two of them closed in on you, and it was only then that he noticed, as you crouched down, what exactly had you so transfixed. 

**** It was a flower, growing out of a small patch of broken brick, where dirt could be seen. The petals seemed to glimmer this ethereal glow. It felt… like each little shine resonating off its surface carried with it the faintest sliver of hope. Yes, if hope had a physical form, he's almost sure that's what it would look like. 

**** It was unlike anything he'd ever seen before. 

**** "Do you know what kind of flower this is, Quinn?" you asked, voice soft and full of wonder as you stared at the little flower.

**** "No" he admitted, to his own chagrin. This would have been a moment where he would've liked to possibly show off his knowledge of the human world. But… "I've never seen anything like this before" 

**** You seemed to smile at that. "Then I guess that makes it special, yeah?" 

**** A moment's pause. 

**** And then, 

**** "Hmm?" 

**** 9S followed your inquiry, watching as you reached out for something on the ground. The thing you clutched your fingers around was a round ornament, a small switch on the side of it, with a chain dangling from it. The ornament itself was a faded silver color, tempered by years of mistreatment by the elements. You flicked the thing open and 9S realized almost immediately that while the inside was bare, there _should_ have been a picture there. 

_This thing_ 9S did recognize. "Oh, that's a locket. Humans used to put pictures of their loved ones in it" 

**** Your eyes softened. "How sweet…" 

**** Your voice sounded like the whisper of a dream, like a tender fire crackling over wood.

**** That tone did things to him you probably couldn't imagine. It made his knees weak, made every gear and cog in his body stutter in wonder at how an android could look… so human. 

**** "Well, I suppose I'll hold onto it. Might be nice for us to use one day, yeah?" 

**** The grin on your face, the love in your eyes - 

**** The wires in his chest could've short circuited right then. 

**** \-- 

9S is greeted by a chorus of machines as you entered the lobby of the theater, eager patrons all waiting for the show to start. He, however, had other plans - as did you and 2B. 

**** The three of you swerved through the crowd, following each other off to the right, where a door hidden in the dark corners of the building stood. Past exploration in this place would remind your group that this was the door that lead down to the basement of the theater. 

**** "Think it's safe?" 9S wondered aloud as the three of you broke away from the crowd. 

**** "Doubt it" 2B snorted, ever the optimist. 

**** "Any ideas about how to proceed then?" he never did like doing things without some kind of plan. It seemed these days he was a bit more apprehensive about danger, given they couldn't just get beamed up to the Bunker for repairs. If any of them got broken, that was it…

**** … and he didn't want to lose this. 

**** "Let's head in slow, scour the area for enemies. If we get flanked like last time, the walls here are weak enough that a bomb should be able to break us out, if needed" 

**** As a Raid unit it was part of your disposition to keep open options for escape after having dealt with your enemies. You were also able to manage groups fairly well, as most Raid units were, but it helped you'd been dubbed as a captain on quite a few missions to help with that. 

**** "Sounds easy enough" 2B agreed. 

**** 9S wasn’t quite so sure, Things had a way of being harder than they needed to when the three of them were the ones at the helm of the problem. But, it wasn’t like they hadn’t made it out of sticky situations before, so he just had to trust that luck wouldn’t run out on this mission. 

**** In his hesitation he felt a hand on his shoulder, comforting and warm. When he looked up he found you smiling down at him, eyes gleaming softly in encouragement. You didn’t say anything but your expression and the hand that rubbed gently at his shoulder conveyed plenty. It was enough to placate him, even if just for the moment. You had this way about you, of making it seem like things would be alright no matter the danger. 

**** “Well, let’s get a move on then” he said, smiling back at you, however softly. 

**** You let your hand slide off of his shoulder and 2B moved to the front. 

**** She never was the best at showing her emotions, but the protective way in which she bounded towards the door, making sure that she would be the first to enter - the first to be attacked if it came to that - spoke volumes in place of her silence. 

**** She hauls open the door with her one arm, gripping her weapon tight in the other. She squints into the darkness of the corridor, scanning the room for enemies. 

**** 9S peers around her, doing much the same, but letting his scanner abilities shine as he searches for spikes of electromagnetic waves in the air. He doesn’t see anything in the immediate area but… that didn’t mean he didn’t see anything at all.  

**** “See anything, Quinn?” 2B inquired, still squinting through the darkness as the group moved forward. 

**** “There’s nothing in here as far as I can tell, but the room ahead of us has some faint activity going on” 

**** “That’s the basement, right?” you asked. 

**** “Yeah, looks like it” 

**** “Well, I guess at most we’ll just have to deal with the hoarder machine” 

**** That was the hope at least. 

**** Through the dark corridor, the group moved in tandem, closing in on the entry to the basement. With a final check behind them, ensuring they hadn’t been suddenly surrounded like so many times before, they advanced. 

**** The door opened, turned by your hand and light flooded into the dark corridor. 

**** The room before them was filled with the material they’d been looking for. Thick sheets of metal lined the walls and filled out the floor by the pile, strong and more than enough to fortify the hideout. But something about it seemed… odd...

**** “Shit, guess we really hit the jackpot on this one” you whistled, stepping onto the stairs leading down into the room. 

**** “How did it even get it all in here?” 9S wondered aloud in awe, stepping down after you. 

**** He knew that machines ranged in size and some had obnoxious strength, but the question more on his mind was how this _quantity_ of metal found its way in there. The room was, for all intents and purposes, filled to the brim with _clean_ metal - the kind he’d only ever seen crumpled on the ground or broken apart, containing just a shell of what used to be an active machine. The only kind of machine part he’d ever seen in tact was bolts or screws, the rest their weapon’s trader had to salvage. So he had to wonder… what method was used to obtain this... 

**** “We should contact the Resistance and have some more people from camp come out to move all this” 2B chimed in, breaking him from his wandering thoughts. 

**** "Yeah, there's no way we'll-" 

**** A sharp, distorted screech cut through the air. 

**** "NOOOO!!"

**** 9S' head snapped in the direction of the noise, skin turning bumpy and cold. He watched as a pile of metal began to rumble, the pieces slowly sliding off of each other until eventually - 

**** something shot out. 

**** It was just a grey blur at first, shooting high up into the air, making the group draw their weapons in apprehension, but when it landed, a hard thud rupturing the ground, 9S could see what it actually was. 

**** One, lone, stubby. It had longer arms and legs than any he had seen before but added limbs didn't change what it was at its core. Yet, he had to wonder…

_Is this the machine that's been collecting all of this?_

**** Another piercing, distorted screech.

**** "You androids will not take this from me! It is mine! I need it to be beautiful!" 

_…. to be… beautiful?_

**** He couldn't, for the life of him, wrap his head around how having all of this material equated to beauty. What did a machine need to be beautiful for anyway? It's not like they would gain anything from it, they were just machines, after all. 

**** Then, mind whirring, he took a closer look at the small creature. His eyes returned to the extended limbs that he hadn't quite seen on any other stubby before. There were clear links indicating where the additional material had been attached, almost like mechanical joints. Had he not known any better he would've just assumed that the machine was just trying to build itself a stronger body, and while he wasn't totally unconvinced of that idea, perhaps… it was something else?

**** "I guess this is the hoarder machine the supply trader told us about?" it was more so a statement than a remark the way 2B asked it, her voice hard and defensive. She was poised to strike, her sword at the ready. 

**** "Sure looks like it… but it's kinda strange, huh?" you inquired, your grip only gently loosening on your sword. 

**** "Strange!?" it screeched, clearly offended. "No! I am beautiful!" the way the thing stomped its feet, like a child throwing a tantrum, was almost comical. 

**** "Sorry, sorry. I didn't mean to upset you" you apologized, bemused tone permeating your speech. 

**** “You androids are always so rude!” even though it has no lungs with which to push out the air, the machine almost sounds like it’s huffing. “You come barging in here, trying to take the stuff I earned!” 

**** “Uh…” 9S found himself at a loss for words… and somewhat annoyed if he were honest with himself. Taking things it earned? The damn machines stole this planet with raw, brutal force, spilling blood and ripping it from the humans that once inhabited it. They wouldn’t have even been in this predicament if they just stayed in space or wherever the hell they were from. 

**** But, true as that may have been, all that came out in place of his annoyance was something that sounded like a shrug given sound.

**** “... sorry?” 

**** The machine stomped a leg on the ground. “You should be!” 

**** “This is getting us nowhere” 2B sighed and 9S was inclined to agree with her. “Let’s just kill-”

**** “Wait, Vi” you spoke up, holding out a hand in pause.

“This machine seems to be like Pascal. It might be worth it taking the pacifist route” you chuckled, much to the woman’s chagrin, though she was placated for the moment.

You looked back to the machine, taking a few steps towards it. “So, you said you need this stuff to be beautiful, right?” 

**** “Absolutely!” it chirped. 

**** “Well, what if I had something that would make you more beautiful than all of that?” 

**** You sounded so sure of yourself, but 9S had to wonder what exactly you were planning to give this thing that would be worth the trade. But, as you reach into your pocket it all became clear - 

**** … the locket. 

**** You held it gingerly in your hands for the thing to see. 

**** Something in his chest squeezed - uncomfortable and tight, burning like an itch. Didn’t you say you wanted to keep that for them? For when this was all over? 

**** The logical side of him understood why you would give it up, it was a small thing to lose in exchange for an entirely refurbished hideout… but this new, emotional, side of him that he was still trying to navigate, felt hurt. Wasn’t this trinket supposed to be special? 

The machine certainly seemed to think so. 

**** It stepped forward, enough to get a good look at the necklace. “Oh my… what’s that?” 

**** “It’s a locket. Only the most gorgeous of humans used to wear it” 

**** It’s curious, attracted to your words in the way that a bee seeks honey. “Really?” 

**** “Mm-hmm. You’re supposed to put a picture of your loved one in here” you tapped the empty glass. “That way they’re always with you even when they’re not” 

**** The machine seemed delighted, jumping up and down with a kind of excitement that 9S had only ever seen on children in visual recordings of the old world. 

**** “Oh yes, that’s absolutely marvelous! Far more beautiful than any new body could be! Would you give it to me?” it asked, reaching for the trinket. 

**** “Would you be willing to trade us your metals?” 9S could see that hint of slyness in your eyes, he could almost laugh at the way your mouth quirked up in just the smallest way. 

**** The creature nodded vigorously, cupping it’s claws together. “Yes, yes of course! I don’t need it anymore if I have this!” 

**** “Then you’re free to have it” you agreed, placing the trinket in the machine’s hands. 

**** His chest felt tight, constricted, as that necklace parted from your fingertips.

**** “Oh my, thank you android! Now my love will be forever mine!” 

The machine raced out of the room without a second thought, emitting a sound that seemed to be something like a cheerful hum, like a song, as it bounded up the stairs and disappeared behind the door, faster than he could blink. 

**** “Well that was… odd” he said. 

**** Odd, a waste of time, and now he felt like something had left along with that locket. Something precious. 

**** 2B sighed, shaking her head. She never was one for nonsense. “Let’s just contact the resistance and get this stuff back to the hideout” 

**** “Yeah…” 

**** Maybe some hard labor in the never-ending sun would shake him of these troubling thoughts. 

**** \-- 

**** Underneath the baking sun, moving sheets of metal that never seemed to lessen in quantity, was unfortunately the perfect time to let his mind conjure up all the ideas and loose hypotheses he’d let go of. Fortunately, rather than sulk over the lost necklace, his mind instead wandered back to the material in his hands. His earlier thoughts about where it had come from and how it had gotten into the basement resurfaced in his mind. 

**** Looking at the material, he knows he’s seen this exact thing, much bigger than a sheet, charging right him. He’s felt this texture tearing into his skin, ripping into him with a ferocity that only one thing would. 

**** This metal came from machines, that much was certain. 

**** Did it strip down it’s comrades for parts? Did machines even know what comrades were? Well, Pascal seemed to at least but that was the only example 9S had seen of such a thing. He couldn’t imagine the almost father-like figure taking apart his villagers for spare parts, that seemed to be against whatever moral code he’d made for himself. So then, perhaps the machine they’d encountered had created a different set of rules for itself. 

**** … it must have, to have made trip after trip, dragging piece by piece of heavy sheets of metal down into the basement of the theater. Dragging hundreds of pieces of it’s kind down into the shadows of the amusement park. 

**** It was… horrifying to think about what that thing might have become had your lot not found it before it’s transformation was complete. 

**** “Well, that seems to be it!” 

**** Your cheerful voice jolts him from his wandering mind. 

**** Suddenly, he’s back in the basement, after hours of work, staring at an empty room. He hadn’t even realized so much time had passed, after a while his body just kind of started moving on his own, completely autonomous from him. As reality sets back in, he can feel the aches in his joints, the way the springs in his spine are stalling with every bend of his back. 

**** God, it sucked. 

**** “Phew, about time” he sighs. 

**** “Actually, _just_ in time” you grinned and curiosity brewed in 9S’ mind. 

**** “Oh? Why’s that?” 

**** “They’re about to set off the fireworks!” you chirped. “We should get to the roof so we can watch them” 

**** A smile finds him, veiling so easily over his lips. You were always so quick to call him cute but really, how could anything be more adorable than the way your eyes lit up over something so simple as fireworks? 

**** “I guess we have kind of earned it after all that work” he agreed. “What do you think, Vi?” 

**** There’s a sliver of a smile sitting on her lips, a slight upturn of her mouth, but it’s there all the same. “Yeah, I guess we’ve got time for it” 

**** That was how, after a few minutes of clambering over rides and scaling up to the highest possible peak of the park, the three of you found yourselves sitting on the roof of the theater. The fireworks exploded off in the distance, shapes freely mixing in with the horizon, splashing beautiful designs onto the canvas. 

**** The first time 9S experienced this, sitting off to your right, 2B to your left, your hands holding theirs - that was when he truly understood how you could find this place beautiful. 

**** This was a moment he’d want a picture of, so he could look at it forever, long after the fireworks had ended. 

**** Then his mind wanders… and that thought brings him back to earlier - to the loss of that locket. 

**** He doesn’t want to say anything… but he knows he has to, for his own peace of mind. So like a river trickling through a cracking dam, the words slip out.

**** “Say Reyes...” 

**** You look to him, quirking up an eyebrow. “Hmm?” 

**** “Can I ask… why you gave up that locket?" his voice is soft. "I know it was the smart thing to do but… didn’t you say you wanted to keep it for us? For when the war is over?” 

**** If he could’ve taken that question back, just so he didn’t have to see the way your face dropped, the way sullen realization settled into your eyes, he would have. Clearly, you hadn’t thought it would’ve hurt him for you to give that away. 

Normally it probably wouldn’t have, especially if the three of you were still in YoRHa. If these new, free emotions still had to be buried within the depths of his very being, down where even he couldn’t reach it, he probably wouldn’t have thought twice. But it seemed to be that because you had said that it was “for us”, because he lost something that was “for us”...

**** It stirred something within him…

**** Those once thought to be faded memories, the ones he sees in his nightmares, start fuzzing into focus, haunting him. 

_It’s a different time, a different him. But you and 2B… you were always the same._

_His reason for existence, the reason he swallowed being killed over and over again. If he could come back to you… if he could see the both of you, then he could bite back the pain. He could live with the painful vacancy he felt every time he woke up, that static that fuzzed up and made it hurt just to exist. He could live with the way things always ended and how, at the very last second, those memories of another him gathered in the cracked, blank space of his mind - filling it up and completing this puzzle of despair._

_It ripped him apart worse than any blade._

_Sometimes he could hear you crying, like this time._

_This time it’s not a blade but a logic virus that 2B implanted in herself, that did him in. It’s the first time he doesn’t hear a pair of sobs, just yours. The virus is taking it’s time, letting him die slowly, letting him listen to the agony of your wailing and God does it break him in a way that’s immeasurable._

_He pictures the tears dripping into a mouth that always smiles at him, salty heartbreak running over lips that always encourage him, that tease him just to make him blush because he’s ‘cute when you’ve got some color on your cheeks’. Oh, and those eyes, now wet and red, that would wink ever so subtly at him in the halls, setting his pulse ablaze in a pace to match the blood thumping in his cheeks._

_It hurt… it hurt like breathing in glass. It hurt worse than shattered limbs and the way he could feel his functions dissolving in the acid of the logic virus. But God be damned if he was going to sit there and die without saying anything. Even if it didn’t matter now, you would know how much you meant to him, to this 9S._

_With every fiber of his being, with all of the will he had left, his arm reaches out for you blindly, trying to form words to get your attention but it comes out as nothing. Yet even then he hears a sharp inhale and the next thing he knows his arm is being cradled in a pair of palms. It’s warm… it’s so warm._

_“R11…” he barely recognizes his own voice._

_He hears the shuffle of what he assumes is your pants against the floor. He feels a hand leave his, only to reach under his head and cradle it with a tenderness he’s only ever seen in your eyes._

**"** _Oh, 9S. I'm so sorry… Im so sorry you have to go through this…"_

_Your voice quivers, hitching and he wants nothing more than to wipe your tears away._

_“Please… please don’t cry over me. Being with you and 2B… I think that’s why I was made…” he coughs, chest functions failing him as his voice strains even more._

_“Even if I have to go through this over and over… I’d keep doing it…” he feels the lull of eternal slumber clutch at him, beckoning him._

_“I’ll do it… if it means we’ll be together…”_

_He wanted you to make a promise._

_“So promise… promise we’ll be together at the end of it all…”_

_Everything starts to cut out, static fills every corner and crevice, every tube and wire. His code is breaking down and he can feel the life slipping from him._

_But his audio chamber is active long enough to hear…_

_“9S… 9S I promise… whatever I have to do. We’ll be together…”_

_….your promise._

**** Now he was here. 

**** The present fuzzes back into focus and instead of cold static he can feel the way his body felt heavy and full of emotions. He’s not blank, he’s burning with so many feelings that he’s never been allowed to show before. 

**** Now he was here, looking into your crestfallen expression. 

**** “Oh, Quinny, I’m so sorry” you grip his hand a little tighter. “It wasn’t easy to part with it, honestly. It’s just the only thing I could think of at the time. I know we could’ve just killed it but I don’t know… it feels weird killing things that don’t come after us first” 

**** He… was starting to understand that. Being a scanner, his curious nature got the better of him and if he could observe a machine, especially one that behaved in an abnormal manner, rather than kill it - he would absolutely prefer that. So, in that way he could relate but…

**** “That and-” you caressed his thumb with your own, looking ever so tenderly into his eyes. “I don’t need a reminder of the people I love. I’ll always have them at my side. That’s my promise” 

_Oh…_

**** How did you always have this way of feeling like home? 

**** Just when he’s questioning everything… there you are. 

**** “You’re such a sap, you know that?” 2B chimed in good naturedly, chuckling quietly to herself.

**** And there she is, bringing it all together.

**** “Aw c’mon!” you swiveled your head to face her. “I mean it!” 

“Yeah, yeah. Just watch the fireworks, huh? You dragged us up here after all”  

**** “Geez, I can’t get nothing can I?” you laughed, laying back against the bricks. 

**** “Nope” 2B said simply, following after you, laying her head against your chest. 

**** 9S smiled down at the two of you, saving the image of his favorite people in the very core of his being. They could rip him apart, take everything from him, but if the being known as 9S - as Quinn - ever came to life anywhere else, this moment would be what defined him. 

**** 9S lays down against you, happily taking up the space in the crook of your neck as his other hand tangled in 2B’s hair. 

**** This moment, was what he lived for. What he fought for. 

What everything before this had been for. 

It was the promise you made to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We outchea with a new chapter!! 
> 
> I finally managed to make a complete outline for this story so I thought I'd continue it! Once I know how a thing will end start to finish, it's so much easier to commit to it uvu However, I'm still open for feedback and what not! Just be easy on me if you could! Haha! 
> 
> Also, since this series is so canon divergent, I'll be happy to clear up any questions you may have! 
> 
> Here are two I can imagine some of you might have after this chapter:  
> 1\. Yes the "glowing flower" is a lunar tear and I will be incorporating the "Emil's Memories" sidequest into this story because Kaine's hut is too precious of a place for the trio not to visit.  
> 2\. Yes the "machine" is meant to be Simone "The Songstress", albeit before she went too crazy. She makes mention in her monologue that she ate androids and even desecrated other machines to get the body she wanted. This is supposed to be a look at what might've happened had she been stopped in the middle of that process. My idea for the locket was that if Simone could have a way that Jean Pierre would "look" at her, in whatever way, that might satiate her - so a picture in a locket might ease her heart. Some of the abnormal machines have very simple ideas about human concepts and while Simone seems to be able to think more critically, my idea is that maybe when the trio find her at this stage her mind is still developing. 
> 
> Also sorry if 9S seems too sappy? I'm still trying to figure out how I want to play him as "Quinn" and how he deals with his new freedom to have emotions. I'm trying to stay as in character as I can while also exploring other avenues of the new personalities the characters will have in this story, so just stick with me!

**Author's Note:**

> I LIIIIIIVE
> 
> Can you believe I'm not dead? Well I'm not just been busy! Been getting my life on track, taking some time to better myself and now I'm back for the most part! Can't promise consistent uploads but I definitely want to get back to writing more! 
> 
> I've been obsessed with Automata since I first played it back in November and naturally with everything I love, you know ya boy was going to write for it. I have SOME idea of where I want this story to go but this first chapter is the only concrete thing I have. So if you guys have any input or things you want to see, let me know!
> 
> Oh and just so no one's confused, I know I explained it in the chapter but 
> 
> Violet = 2B  
> Quinn = 9S  
> You = Reyes
> 
> Feels good to be back!


End file.
